LOCK, STOCK AND TRADE 2008

Lock, Stock and Trade 2008 was a success. My e-cell team has done a great job in putting up this event in less than a month. This included the week we spent in selecting the junior team. I have blogged about the event on the NEN website. Please read it on nenonline for details. I am also posting the same here.

'Awe-spiring', is how one of the students described the Lock, Stock & Trade, 'I thoroughly enjoyed myself and also learnt a lot today', says Dhanshree Wankhede, a first year MBA student at Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD), Pune. Lock, Stock and Trade 2008 was organised by Entrepreneurship Cell (e-cell), SCMHRD in association with National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) on 26^th July 2008. Main sponsors of the event were Pringoo.com.

The stage was set for lots of energy, vibrancy and enthusiasm. The theme of LST is based on the lines of a mock IPO (in primary market), where real-life entrepreneurs, teamed up with students, present and pitch their businesses to the Jury and audience. The audience assess, bid and invest to create their personal portfolios. In the end, the team which gets the highest market share wins the game. Also, the investor who assimilates the most profitable portfolio is awarded.

The event started off with an inspiring speech by Mr. K. S. Subramanian, Director, SCMHRD. He emphasized on the need for entrepreneurial opportunities to be tapped by young India. Ms. Sunita Singh, Director, NEN Consulting, also said in her address, "It's difficult to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship in anyone, the drive has to come from within". She discussed the various initiatives of NEN to make entrepreneurship and its knowledge more accessible.

Mr. Rahul Patwardhan, VC & MD, IndiaCo Ventures

Mr. Rahul Patwardhan, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, India Co. Ventures Ltd., was the keynote speaker of the event. His mantra for the youth of today was 'find the purpose, the means will follow' He stressed that an entrepreneur does not need money to start a venture but needs enthusiasm, a good idea and a strong team to be successful. Members of the jury were Mr. Harish Kamat, AVP - Investment group, IndiaCo Ventures Ltd., and Shrinath Navghane, Director and CEO, SDN financial group.

The first trading session saw enthusiastic teams of Agricultural Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC), For-She Travels and Logistics Pvt. Ltd. and Oval Impex Pvt. Ltd., pitching for their respective businesses. The presentations received enthusiastic response and speculations were gallore about the most profitable business. In the second trading session, Pratham Technologies, QuickSolv Solutions and Symphony Technologies presented their businesses. Each team gave the other a run for their money. Tension was mounting amid investors, calculating and consulting each other to make the most profitable portfolio as the bidding came to an end.

Team - Pratham Technologies

In the panel discussion, the two jury members had an intense discussion with the audience about the performance and presentations of all teams. The jury award for the best team went to Pratham Technologies Pvt. Ltd., represented by Mr Datta Deshpande, Chairman and Executive Director, Pratham Technologies, and Vibhor Mundhada. The winning points were their concise presentation and the appropriate risk-benefit analysis of the business.

But the winning team for the day, by market capitalization, was Symphony Technologies led by Mr. Ravi Khare and students, Roshan Rebello and Bikash Dash. The jury applauded the team's energy and their in-depth analysis of the business. "A fantastic event! All these years we had been only looking inwards but this event gave us an opportunity to look outwards. LST gave me an opportunity to learn a lot more about how an IPO works", said Ravi Khare, Director and CEO, Symphony Technologies.

The winning teams, apart from taking away a cash prize of Rs 3,000, will now proceed to represent SCMHRD at the national finals of Lock, Stock & Trade on 9^th August 08 at SPJMIR, Mumbai. The event proved to be enriching and fulfilling for both students and faculty alike.

In his final address Mr Harish Kamat also said, "One of the most pleasant and enjoyable Saturdays I have had. I had a great time interacting with the students and entrepreneurs alike"

For all the photographs of the event, please visit the e-cell web album below

Lock Stock & Trade 2008

Time for Interviews

Last week was a time for e-cell junior team selection and it was both fun as well as a tiring exercise.

It all started with a presentation to the juniors about the entrepreneurship cell. All the cells which are a part of the council went together. We were the last ones to present amongst them and as we were taking queries, suddenly, a girl fainted :D.

We decided to hold a 3 stage process. But before that the students had to sign up for different cells and clearly state their preferences. e-cell was in for a pleasant a surprise when we found that we were the second highest with 75 sign ups beating the placements team. Doesn't this say something about this batch.

Stage 1 was a questionnaire which had to be filled. My team spent its Sunday night, evaluating the questionnaire as we came up with a shortlist. Then we decided to divide the prospects into groups of 5 and see how well they work together as a team. A lot of planning had to go into both these stages and so we thought the hardest part was over as the next stage was interviews....
But sadly (as I later realised) I was mistaken....

Once, we announced shortlist, the ordeal started. The next two nights (Mon and Tues) I had spent awake and was awarded the pleasure of the sun rise after a long long time....On Tuesday, we started with the interviews in the evening. We had a lot of fun taking people's cases, unsettling them....I'm sure they had a easier time getting into SCMHRD rather than into one of the many committees (this stands true for all the cells). But, I got a chance to meet many different people, knew some of my juniors a lot better, etc. I was also amazed at some of the plans.

The last interview got over at 4 am and we especially enjoyed this one as the prospect was completely zonked and I am sure left without any hope of getting selected. But then the actually ordeal started. The next 3 hours we spent on coming down to the final list from 11 and that also unanimously. Not did anyone of us ever imagined that this would be easy. When I look back I'm amazed at the issues we discussed before we came up with the final seven.

But then, I guess it was worth the effort. I have got a great junior team, which has been appreciated by the diro as well.